For many people, the years of undergraduate study at a university would rank as one of the most memorable and life-changing experiences of their lives. Some regard the obtaining of a good undergraduate degree in order to secure a decent career path as the most important aspect of university life. Others prefer to take a more philosophical approach, and recognise that these three years will probably be the only time an individual is given access to a wealth of resources to facilitate the study of a topic of interest. Either way, the years of undergraduate study have the potential to be an individual's most rewarding years of learning.
But often, it is not the academic part of life in a university that provides the fondest memories or the greatest learning experiences. For example, in Hong Kong the period of undergraduate study is likely to be the first time a young adult leaves home to live among strangers if he or she has been fortunate enough to obtain a place at a hall. In recognition of the importance of the non-academic aspect of university life, the University of Hong Kong awarded a long-serving caretaker at a residential hall, Yuen So-moy, an honorary fellowship last year. In her citation for the fellowship, she was described as contributing 'to higher education in the most fundamental of ways: by nurturing, sustaining and strengthening the emotional well-being of generations'. She had served students of the university for over four decades in various roles ranging from cook to hall attendant, and no doubt contributed to the university experience of many.
However, HKU, as well as the seven other universities, have all been cited by the University Grants Committee for employing too many non-academic staff. Instead of implementing 2004 recommendations of outsourcing or collaborating on back-office services, they appear to have done the opposite, and increased the number of support staff at a faster pace than adding lecturers. On average, there are now 1.5 administrative employees compared to 1.1 in British universities, and 0.8 in the United States. There is no denying that a university is an institution in itself. And as an institution, it therefore needs a large number of administrators who keep the university running. Back-office staff who organise timetables, book conference rooms, and invite visiting lecturers are crucial to the running of the most basic function of a university. Meanwhile, others help with the extra-curricular activities, or offer advice on career planning and liaise with outside organisations for placement of internships, which are also in the interest of the students.
But if universities elsewhere with much bigger campuses are able to handle such duties with a proportionally smaller number of staff, one has to question whether the extra staff at Hong Kong universities are contributing to the welfare of the students. There is a difference between hiring non-academic staff who contribute to the welfare of students through care or career planning, and employing staff who merely create another layer of bureaucracy or merely work to improve the prestige of the university. The more administrators a student has to liaise with over his or her course of learning, the greater the distance between the student and the lecturer, and the learning experience becomes diluted. Without knowing the exact job nature of the new staff, it is difficult to tell whether these additions are justifiable or not, but universities must remember that they are public institutions, and that they strive for success for the ultimate sake of the students and research, and not for themselves.